A Chat With Naviyah About Her Single “Sippin On Dat”
Q: Hi Naviyah! “Sippin On Dat” came from a big life shift for you. What was the moment that made you choose sobriety and faith over the old lifestyle?
A: It’s like my body was literally rejecting alcohol, it felt like my body was telling me, I don’t want this anymore, you don’t need it, it also made me feel very sleepy and it also made my face very puffy the next day, alcohol has tons of sugar and calories in it, and overall, I really hate hangovers lol
I basically stopped drinking alcohol for like a whole year when I wrote this track, and I felt like that was how it was supposed to be in order for me to have a sober mind, and to actually represent and be a living testimony in what I’m actually saying in my lyrics lol
This all happened much further down the line after I got baptised at my local church, and I felt that this was a new transition or transformation for me to remain pure.
Q: The track has a gritty UK rap feel but still carries a positive message. How did you balance street authenticity with your faith?
A: As a teenager, I was always hanging out on the blocks with my home boys and home girls, going to different areas and chilling, drinking, smoking etc playing music on loud speaker lol haha those days we were definitely listening to a lot more Grime music back then more than ever like artists such as
Wiley, Kano, JME, Lethal Bizzle, Flirta D, Dizzie Rascal, Roll Deep, Klashnekoff, DaVinche, Shystie, Ms Dynamite, Crazy Titch, So Solid Crew,
So I grew up on Grime, Rap and Hip-Hop music for years since I was a teenager, and this was all when I never knew later on down the line that I would become a music Artist myself lol life is absolutely crazy, I didn’t see it coming at all to be honest, I didn’t have a clue, everyone that I grew up with was also shocked, family members, school friends etc too crazy surprise
Q: Producer 1995 gave you the instrumental for the song. What did you hear in the beat that made you know it was right for you?
A: Just by listening to the intro alone like the first 30 seconds, I was like ohh this is hard, wait it gets even better lol nooo this is insane, whaaaaaat I need this beat asap
Q: Marcel Somerville called “Sippin On Dat” an “an absolute banger, I’m definitely adding this to my playlist.” What did that reaction mean to you?
A: It felt good lol Marcel and he’s co-host Mikill Pane at the time actually had their own radio show on FUBAR Radio, and they invited me down to the radio station for an exclusive interview when they first heard and discovered the track online and we all spoke about “Sippin On Dat” on air and discussed how the song came about etc and boi the feedback was absolutely mind blowing
Q: Fans have been comparing you to a female Giggs and Tinie Tempah. How do you feel about those comparisons?
A: Man being compared to both of these UK artists are legendary lol I actually love them both and I definitely would love to work with them one day for sure, Tinie Tempah already knows that I wanna do a song with him lol
I tagged Tinie Tempah in one of my instagram stories when I was watching he’s music video “RIP” featuring Rita Ora, and I said “I definitely gotta do a song with Tinie Tempah one day” and Tinie actually liked my status and story, and since then, he has started to like a few of my comments that I leave on he’s instagram posts, so you never know what the future holds right lol
I’ve also been in talks with he’s Manager Arnon a few times too, so like I said, you never know, things happen at the right time
Q: You have had radio support, brand work and industry attention over the years. What kind of doors has “Sippin On Dat” opened so far?
A: Wow it’s opened up plenty of doors already since “Sippin On Dat” dropped, it’s been soo overwhelming how people respond, even like most of my male work colleagues, they all wanna be in the Music Video lol and they are not allowing me shoot the video without them lol they really love the track and they wanna back me and support me and my movement in the music industry
Also a few of my homeboys that I grew up with are always hitting me up like saying don’t forget to invite me to the music video
So, I do have a bit pressure already on how I want it the music video to be and look like lol as I was gonna shoot it with just myself with like with a car or a motorbike, as my videographer’s already have the treatment ready on how I want it too look like
The film studios that we are gonna use can hold up to like 30 people I think, so I may invite the man dem down after all and allow them to join me at the very end after I’ve done my part throughout the day lol
Q: You are British, Jamaican and Nigerian, and your sound is moving into R&B, reggae, dancehall and Afrobeats. How much of that heritage will we hear in your new upcoming music?
A: Yes I am lol and I’m extremely proud because Afrobeats, Reggae and Dancehall have been dominating the music industry for decades like crazy, since Bob Marley, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Vybz Kartel, Gyptian, Beenie Man, Damian Marley, Sister Nancy, Mavado etc now we have artists like Davido, Protoje, Shenseea, Moliy, Nicki Minaj, Stefflon Don, Chronixx, Original Koffee, Burna Boy, Wiz Kid, honestly there’s so many more artists that I could name right now lol
Even artists like Rihanna being Barbadian Caribbean, she jumped on riddims like her first ever single “Pon De Replay”, then further down the line “Work”, “Man Down”, “Rude Boy”, “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want”
Funny enough, talking about Rihanna, when I wrote my song “Summer Boy”, which is my next single, which I will talk about more later on, I actually thought of Rihanna and said to myself, “man this song would really suit Rihanna bad”, or even Beyonce, but I really wanna keep this one for my own catalog, that’s how much I love the song lol
That being said, I do have a connection with the Record Label ‘Rocnation’ (Jay-Z’s and former Co-Founder Jay Brown) in order for me to submit songs for Rihanna as a Songwriter which is dope, this all happened when Omar Grant was the A&R at the label at the time, and I approached them with another song that I had in mind years ago called “Trials”, even to the point I’ve had several dreams about Rihanna singing this song, and she was in tears after hearing it in the dream, so she still needs to hear it lol
Omar did say he actually liked the song “Trials”, that I wrote, but said that he wasn’t in love with the song lol and if I have anything else, I can always send demos through anytime, so basically in other words, he saying that the door is always open for me which is amazing to have an opportunity like that for future ideas, and of course my music lawyer was copied inn the email lol
Anyways, moving on, we also got artists like Nicki Minaj being Trinidadian doing songs like “Megatron” it just works like the beat production, it’s definitely Caribbean vibes, like it’s a nice tropical exotic sound, it just reminds me of summer time, everybody’s happy having a good time, laughing, joking, smiling, enjoying the sunshine etc lol
However, going back to myself as Naviyah lol you guys are definitely going to be hearing my Jamaican side lol first of all eating all the Caribbean food since growing up around mi Jamaican grandmother, her patwa is insane lol and definitely my Nigerian side when it comes to Afrobeats
As I was born in London UK, I never really spoke patwa myself growing up at all, only as a joke when I was bantering, so in my next upcoming single called “Summer Boy” which I’m extremely excited about, I’m doing like two different versions of the track lol one English version, and one in a patwa version lol it’s my first time doing a different genre so it’s gonna be amazing to see how my fans and audience respond to it, as the song is really dope and it’s my favourite track of mine so far, and I would say the song is more of a Pop/Reggae song more than anything, however, the music video for “Summer Boy” will definitely be Jamaican, dancehall vibes, big sound systems etc
I’ve already got all my outfits ready, and the vision and look that I want for the music video lol so when the song blows up, I may do a remix of the song and invite or collaborate with other Jamaican artists to go on the track if it’s needed, I think would definitely be dope, why not lol
Q: Your first official music video is expected in 2026. What can fans expect visually from “Sippin On Dat”?
A: Definitely a Motorsport theme, that’s what I’m going for, for the official music video (Visualizer), it’s that type of vibe you know, like UK Rap sound, and I really liked the video for the song “Motorsport” by Migos, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj, those visuals were insane with the cars etc
Q: You’ve had support from radio, brands, artists and even major label attention. What kind of partnership or collaboration are you hoping for next?
A: Hmm, that’s a good question lol I’ve always enjoyed being independent to be honest, as I like having control over my work and art, especially when it comes to single art covers, the vision that I have in my head in terms of music videos etc,
However, if the right record label approaches me, and I feel that it’s a good fit in what I’m trying to create and bring to the world, then I’m open to hearing and partnering up with a label only if it feels right in my spirit, and if I had to choose, I think either VP Records, Island Records or Virgin Music group could work for me, as I love how Island Records discovered Jamaican artist Bob Marley and because I’m now slowly moving in that direction towards Reggae, Dancehall, Afrobeats etc, any of these labels could probably work for me, as they have the big boy financial backing lol
Q: For the rest of this year, what’s next for Naviyah — more singles, performances, visuals, or something completely unexpected?
A: Definitely more music and visuals from me, I now have a new recording & mixing engineer and new recording studio that I attend, and my recording engineer has worked with so many artists like Adele, Kayne West, Frank Ocean, Popcaan, Little Mix, Stormzy, Bob Marley, Wiz Kid, Tiwa Savage, Dappy and many others, he’s super talented when it comes to he’s recording and mixing sessions, and he’s a lovely person too, he’s hooked me up nicely in different ways, and I can’t wait to continue to work with him on all my upcoming releases.
I decided to change studios due to the sound I’m looking for in terms of higher quality, and overall it’s an investment, the more you invest in yourself as an artist, the more great opportunities will come to you, and in the long run, I want my fans and the listeners to enjoy my music in the best quality possible, as good music is timeless
